Dispensing device



Dec.3, 1946. P. A. WOOSTER I 2,411,917

' DISPENSING DEVICE Filed March 28, 1941 INVENTOR PM; 4. Woes/er ATTORNEY:

' facture, noisy, timed to apre-determined interval.

.pull thereon.

' I Patented Dec. 3, 1946 UNETED' STATE s IN-PATENT orr ea msrnnsmo DEVICE Philip A. Wooster, San Rafael, Calif. Application March 28, 1941 Serial No. 385,659

This invention'relates toldispenslng devices,

devices for dispensing sheets of material from a continuous web, as for example, paper towels iromaroll of toweling.

In issuing towels to patrons in a public or semiand particularly to operating mechanism for patron where one towel will sufllce adequately to perform its intended service. Such delay mechanisms have the disadvantage of often delaying the prompt delivery of towels to successive users of the device, and are therefore a source of annoyance to patrons who may attempt to dispense a towel after the preceding patron has.

left the dispenser but before the-required time period has elapsed. Such timing mechanisms are also undesirable because they are necessarily complicated in construction, costly to manuand dimcult to keep accurately It is the object of the present invention to provide a dispenslng device with operating mechanism which is simple in construction and inexpensive to manufacture, and which is quiet and positive in its operation, as well as durable and designed to effect sufflcient delay in the dispensing of toweling to discourage wasteful use but which will in no way interpose any successive operations of the device.

Another object of this invention is to provide a mechanism that is easily and readily operable, which can dispense paper only by rotation of the operating member. and which is automatically locked against dispensing of towelingby a direct It is also an object of the invention to provide a dispensing device with operating mechanism which will make possible the dispensing of any desired length of toweling, as contrasted to the usual mechanism which dispenses only towels of apredetermined length. v

These and other objects are accomplished through the provision of a simple worm and gear drive for a. dispensing roller which advances the towel from a continuous roll of toweling condelay between 13 @laims. (Cl. 271--2.3)

to the gear ratio employed, must be rotated a plurality of times to effect dispensing of a length of toweling suitable for theusual requirement of drying the hands. Reverse operation of the crank is prevented by a simple spring clutch which disengages the handle from the worm gear upon reverse rotation of the handle, acting together with a reverse pawl locking the worm gear wheel against reverse rotation;

and the worm and gear drive is also eifective to prevent withdrawal of toweling by pulling on the end of the towel which projects from the cabinet.

- One form of the invention is more specifically shown in the accompanying drawing, and described in detail in the following specification, wherein further objects and'advantages of the invention are made apparent.

In the drawing- Fig. l is a front elevation of a cabinet for dispensing paper,towels embodying the present invention in the operating mechanism, the cabinet being broken away in parts to disclose the interior mechanism;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1;'

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 1; and c Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail view of a portion of the operating mechanism taken along line 4-1 of Fig. 3.

The dispensing cabinet shown in the drawing comprises a case to be secured against a wall in a convenient position, and a cover member arranged to conceal the contents of the case. The case, as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, comprises a back member ill, a bottom member H, and a pair'of side walls shown at 12. The top and the front of 1 the case are left open to facilitate the insertion of a roll of paper, and the side walls I! are provided with outwardly extending flanges l3, which serve to lend rigidity to the structure and also serve to provide a space at both ends of the case for the reception of operating mechanism. The cover member, hinged as at H to a member I5 which extends across the top of the case, comprises atop l6 which curves to join a front wall l1, and has a pair talned within the dispensing case or cabinet.

The drive wormand gear are operated by a small hand crank which projects from the cabinet at a convenient and practical angle and which, due Yet -'of side walls 18 which,

with the top and front I portion, serve to conceal the entire case and operating mechanism, with the exception of the bottom wall thereof. I

Within the case a pair of inclined shelves or ledges I9 secured one to each of the side walls I! support a roll 20 of paper toweling by its edges in a manner to permit toweling to I withdrawn from the roll. Journalled in and extending between the side walls |2 are a dispensing roller 2| and a pressure roller 22, The free end of the toweling is led from the roll 20 over the top of the roller 2| between the rollers 2| and 22 and to a point where it may project as indicated by the arrow 23 from an opening in the bottom of the case. Consequently, rotation of the roller 2| will effect withdrawal of toweling from the roll 28 and will eject it through the opening in the bottom of the case in the conventional manner so that it may be torn free from the continuous length to be used as a towel.

In order that the toweling ma; be dispensed easily and positively, and without waste thereof, the present invention provides the mechanism illustrated best in Figs. 3 and 4 for eflecting rotation of the dispensing roller 2|. The principal parts of the rolleroperating mechanism are enclosed within a small case 25, preferably secured by a flanged edge 26 to the side wall-l2 by means .of bolts shown at 2'! or any suitable fastening means. This case 25 rotatably supports a crank 28 which extends out through the bottom of the forward of the front wall thereof to occupy a position easily-accessible to a usenwho will rotate the crank in order to dispense the length of toweling. The angle of disposition of the crank, the main 7 main case of the dispenser and projects slightly axis for which is inclined forwardly and downwhere it may serve to rust orotherwise deteriorate.

the operating mechanism, it being understood that the crank is almost invariably operated by wet hands, and in most dispensers employing an operatin crank the moisture which enters the dispenser along the crank handle is sufficient to result in considerable damage over a period of time.

On the crank 28 within the case 25 is rotatably supported a worm 29. Pinned to the crank against rotation is a shouldered collar 30. The abutting ends of the collar 30 and worm 29 are of the same diameter and coiled about them is a spring 3| which serves as a uni-directional or one-way clutch, as rotation of the crank and bushing 30 in one direction tends to tighten the coils of the spring 3| which grips the shank of the worm 29 and shank of the bushing 30. On the other hand, rotation of the crank in the opposite direction tends to loosen or enlarge the coils of the spring 3|, which permits it'to slip over the shank of the worm 29 and/or the shank of the bushing 30. The worm meshes with a worm gear 32 which is fixed to the trunnion 33 which isthe journal for one end of the dispensing roller 2|. Consequently, rotation of the crank rotates the dispensing roller 2| at a greatly reduced rate of speed, the driving ratio preferably being such that a plurality of turns of thecrank will be necessary to dispense a length of toweling suitable for ordinary uses. While this gear ratio may be greatly varied, depending upon the speed of operation desired, it has been found that a ratio'whlch will effect dispensing ten or twelve inches of toweling upon some fifteen or twenty turns of the crank will efiect an operation sufficiently slow to discourage wasteful use of the toweling. and at the same time will be sufllciently rapid to prevent annoyance to the patrons using the device.

It is essential, however, to provide a worm and worm gear of such driving ratio and design that it is impossible to drive the worm by its gear and thus prevent a patron from grasping the exposed end of the toweling and pulling it out by hand. With the worm gear thus properly designed there is in efiect a friction lock which prevents withdrawal of the toweling by a direct pull. Were it possible to operate the dispensing mechanism in a reverse direction, the toweling could be fed backwardly to a point where its leading end was released from between the. dispensing roller 2| and pressure roller 22, and consequently subsequent operation of the crank in its proper direction would fail to are formed by perforating and pressing outwardly the side wall I2 of the main case and inwardly the side wall of the small case 25. This forms an inexpensive structure and mounting for the pawl 34 which engages the teeth of the gear by gravity, and ,is limited in its upward swinging movement by a stop 38 in the form of a small angular member secured to the wall |2 (see-Fig. 3). The pawl is also fastened, as shown in Fig. 4, to clear a spring 31 which serves to retain the pressure roller 22 against the dispensing roller 2|. The spring 31 is one of a pair mounted one at each end of the main case and extends between a fixed eye 33 and a'bearing 39 which embraces a journal 49 projecting from the end of the pressure roller 22,

' which journal is guided between flanges 4| bent outwardly at the edges of the slot in the side wall to any of its associated parts.

The slots in which its journals are guided are continued, as best illustrated in Fig. l, in the flange 3 as shown at 42. Upon removal of the springs 31 which urge the pressure roller toward the dispensing roller, it may therefore be easily removed from its position within the case. The small case 25 must of course be first removed, and there is preferably an identical case for the opposite side to prevent unauthorized tampering with the exposed mechanism.

The toweling. after passing between the rollers, is carried toward the opening in the bottom of the case by a curved wall 43 which more or less follows the contour of the roller 2| and the lower edge of which serves as a tearing edge against which the dispensed portion of the toweling may be torn away. This wall 43 extends between the side plates of the main case and at its upper edge is provided with fingers 44 which project into grooves 45 in the pressure roller 22 t6 prevent anypossibility of the toweling passing upwardly into the case rather than down through the discharge chute formed by the wall 43. The bottom ll of the case is also bent upwardly under the dispensing roller 2| and is provided at its edge with fingers 46 extending dispensing roller.

A latch'to reta n the cover in its closed poolinto grooves "in the tion is provided by a spring ll secured to the exterior oi the wall I and having a lower end which engages a lip on the forward bottom edge of the cover. This latch ma be disengaged by a key or any suitable instrument inserted through an opening provided in the cover for that purpose. When the cover is in its closed position its lower rear comers are engaged behind and a protected by clips 9 secured to the bottom of the case and proiectingupwardly therefrom, and the cover may be retained in its open'position by having its side walls pressed toward each other slightly so that they'will engage within and be supported by clips 50 which extend upwardly from the outer edges of the flanges l3. Due to the clips 49 and '50 which serve to support and protect the cover. it may be made of considerably lighter material than is ordinarily considered necessary for such a purpose, with very much less danger of its becoming bent or otherwise damaged.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is: 1. Operating mechanism for a towel dispenser comprising a dispensing roller, a crank, a worm and gear driveconnecting said crank and roller, and a uni-directional friction clutch between said crank and worm to prevent reverse rotation of the worm. v

2. Operating mechanism for a towel dispenser comprising a dispensing roller, a crank, a worm and gear drive connecting said crank and roller,

a uni-directional friction clutch between said crank and worm to prevent reverse rotation of the worm, and a pawl engaging the gear teeth to prevent reverse rotation of the gear.

; 3. Operating mechanism for a towel dispenser comprising a dispensing rollena crank rotatable through at least one revolution in both directions,

. worm and gear drive connecting said crank and roller, and means to prevent retraction of the toweling by operation of the crank in a reverse direction.

4. In combination with a towel dispensing cabinet, means for dispensing toweling from a supply contained therein comprising a rotatable operatconnecting the crank to the roller and arranged to'require a plurality of turns of the crank to each revolution of the roller, means for preventing reverse rotation of the roller. and a one-way clutch interposed in the drive means to disconnect the crank from the roller upon reverse turning of the crank.

8. Operating mechanism for a towel dispenser comprising a dispensing roller, a crank, a worm and gear drive connecting said crank and roller, a one-way clutch interposed between the crank v and the roller to free the crank on reverse tumthrough at least one revolution in either direction, drive means connecting the crank and dispensing roller to rotate the roller once upon a plurality of turns of the crank, a one-way clutch interposed in the drive means to free the crank from the roller upon reverse turning of the crank, and means for preventing reverse rotation of the roller.

11. Operating mechanism for a towel dispenser comprising a dispensing roller, a crank, and drive means connecting the crank and dispensing roller to rotate the roller forwardly continuously todispense a continuous length of towel upon continuous turning of the crank, each rotation of the roller requiring a plurality of turns of the crank,

' said drive means providing a lock for preventing dispensing rotation of the roller except by turning the crank.

, 12. Operating comprising a dispensing mechanism tor a towel dispenser means connecting the crank and dispensing roller ing crank mounted for rotation on an axis that extends downwardly and away from the cabinet. 5. Operating mechanism for a towel dispenser comprising a dispensing roller, a crank, a worm and gear driveconnecting said crank and roller,

and means to prevent retraction of the towehng by operation or the crank in a reverse direction. 6. Operating mechanism for a towel dispenser comprising a dispensing roller, a crankrotatable through at least one revolution in either direction, a worm and gear drive means connecting the crank to the roller, and a one-way clutch interposed in the drive means to disconnect the crank from the roller uponreverse turning of the crank.

7. Operating mechanism for comprising a roller,

a towel dispenser a crank turnable in either direction, a worm and gear drive means means to permit reverse operation or the crank,

and adapted to rotate the roller forwardly through a plurality of revolutions continuously to dispense a continuous length or towel upon continuous turning of the crank, each rotation of the roller requiring aplurality oi turns'of the crank, said drive means preventing dispensing rotation of the roller except by turning the crank, and means for preventing .reverse rotation of the roller.

13. Operating mechanism for a towel dispenser comprising a dispensing roller, a crank, a worm and gear drive connecting the crank and dispensing roller to rotate the roller forwardly continuously to dispense a continuous length of towel upon continuous turning oi the crank. each rotation 0! the roller requiring a of the crank, and means for preventing reverse rotation of the roller.

PHILIP A. woosrnn.

roller, a crank, drive plurality of turns 

